Notes, comments and observations from the Lifestyle and Entertainment desk by Lifestyle Editor Aixa Torregrosa-Vazquez.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Time for some dancing ... with the stars

I have to confess that I am a big fan of "Dancing With the Stars."Last week, for some reason, I missed the season opener, and I have only watched part of the show posted online.But, no worry I will be watching tonight.Who will be the first one out I wonder? Not having seen everyone dance, I cannot place bets yet on what could happen this week.It seems it will be an interesting season.

FREE! Job interview help program, take advantage of it!!

Most job interviews are free -- unless you have to travel a long way or buy a bunch of new clothes for it, get lunch, pay parking, fill the gas tank -- etc, etc.And, professional help with getting ready for them can get expensive.Until now......Kudos to the Wissahickon Valley Public Library and RSVP for organizing this PROGRAM . Many people do not have access to these kind of services. So take advantage.

Here's the full press release sent from them .....

Free Job Interviews

Wissahickon Valley Public Library has teamed up with the executives from RSVP to offer Mock Job Interviews at the library, 650 Skippack Pike, Blue Bell, www.wvpl.org. Call RSVP to set up a free appointment to practice interviewing skills and be prepared for your next job appointment. Call Janis at RSVP 610-834-1040 extension 16. Pick a time that is convenient for you. Choose an interviewer and you are set to go. Before the interview, stop by the library to pick up a Sample Employment Application and Interviewing Tips with Mock Interview Questions.

This new program is another way your library is helping to serve your community during these times of employment and economic change. Anne Frank, Library Director, has teamed up with Janis Glusman of RSVP to develop this interview program.

RSVP, Retired & Senior Volunteer Program, has three executives who will help you brush up and fine tune your interviewing skills. Jerry Bapst works for the Logistics Management Institute in Washington, DC. Previously he was a manager with AT&T and Johnson & Johnson and has years of experience in interviewing candidates.

Richard Singer has an MBA in Finance from Adelphi University and has worked at Aramark Corporation, Allied Domecq QSR, consulted with numerous companies and serves as board member or treasurer with several regional non-profit organizations.

Joe Wehr was Business Manager for Nike for fourteen years. He was responsible for all the financial and operational activities for field sales and marketing. He spent much of his time interviewing and hiring for all positions.

In addition, the library also offers a resume review service. Bring in a resume and have the professional reference staff go over it with you and offer hints and tips to change or refocus the writing or simply polish up the presentation. Both the resume review and the Mock Interviews are free services.

Also, while at the library, check out one of the many books on job searching and resume writing. A library card is the Smartest Card: Get It. Use It @Your Library. Remember: Your Public Library is a Center for Lifelong Learning.

Looking for Easter activities?

Put the salt shaker away!

What's with salt these days ... people are fighting it, cities are fighting it .. and we should all join the fight against salty stuff. I now, we all like our chips and salsa .. but it is not good for us.So please, here's a message to cookers, food producers and food establishments around the globe: lay off the salt. There's nothing worse than going out for a quick lunch, choose the healthiest soup in the menu and bam! it is sooooo salty! But I ate it because I did not want to loose my money -- am too nice, I should have asked for a refund.Some things just need a pinch of salt, why do people insist in putting a lot of it in the food....

Picasso, up close and personal

Here's a good way to prep if you are planning to go view the exhibit Picasso and the Avant-Garde in Paris now through April 25 at The Philadelphia Museum Art.Check http://www.youtube.com/PhilaArtMuseum

For an up-close look at the special exhibition, Picasso and the Avant-Garde in Paris , the Museum shares a new series of informative videos, featuring Michael Taylor, The Muriel and Philip Berman Curator of Modern Art. In the first videos from this series, Michael Taylor discusses the Americans in Paris gallery, which captures the Lost Generation of artists and writers who formed Picasso’s circle and made Paris what it was in 1920. He also illuminates the Salon Cubism gallery, focusing on Jean Metzinger's Tea Time (Woman with a Teaspoon) , which was known as the “Mona Lisa” of Cubism. More videos are planned.

van Gogh admirers can get virtually close to 'Bedroom' restoration

Brilliant!

Many of us admire the art of Vincent van Gogh, we stare in awe at "Irises," "The Starry Night," and of course, "Sunflowers" taking in the beauty and the artistic brilliance.

So if you are a "I love everything van Gogh-kind of person," you'll love this news --- Van Gogh's work 'The Bedroom' is undergoing restoration and you can sort of watch .... read on and check the blog ..

http://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/blog/slaapkamergeheimen/en/

AMSTERDAM (AP) — One of Vincent van Gogh's most famous paintings, "The Bedroom," has been taken away for restoration, but art lovers don't have to miss it. They can follow the cleanup on a blog, the Van Gogh Museum said Thursday (March 11, 2010). The 1888 painting of Van Gogh's room in the French city of Arles, with its brilliant lavender walls and pine-colored bed, was one of the artist's favorite works. An examination of the work, including micrographs and x-rays, found that it needed major treatment to restore its fading colors, museum spokeswoman Natalie Bos said.The painting was removed from exhibition in January, and the restoration work was expected to continue through August, she said. The head of the project, Ella Hendriks, will blog on the restoration once or twice a week, offering a rare view of how such work is done."We wanted to keep it virtually visible," Bos said. Van Gogh made a copy of the painting after it suffered water damage and he sent the original to his brother Theo in Paris to repair. The second version is now on display in Chicago. He later painted a smaller copy, which is in Paris.

Michigan's unemployment rate is still the nation's highest, at 14.3 percent, followed by Nevada, with 13 percent and Rhode Island at 12.7 percent. South Carolina and California round out the top five.

There were some signs of job creation. Thirty-one states added jobs in January, up from only 11 in the previous month. But the job gains weren't enough, in many cases, to lower the unemployment rate.

For example, California reported the largest job gains, of 32,500, though its unemployment rate also rose. Illinois, New York, Washington state and Minnesota reported the next highest totals of new jobs.

The lowest unemployment rates are still found in upper Plains states, with North Dakota's jobless rate of 4.2 percent the lowest in the nation. Nebraska and South Dakota had the next lowest rates, at 4.6 percent and 4.8 percent, respectively.

In January, the national unemployment rate fell to 9.7 percent from 10 percent the previous month. Last week, the Labor Department said the national rate was unchanged in February at 9.7 percent, a better reading than most analysts expected.

State unemployment data for February won't be released until later this month.

They had to watch, they have no jobs!!!

As reported in the LA Times: "About 41.3 million people watched ABC's coverage of the 82nd Academy Awards, according to Nielsen."

So many more flocked to watch the Academy Awards show -- this national, no, make this global party. I guess is a good thing. Who doesn't like a party.But think about it, why were so many more people watching.I have a theory ... so many are out of a job. They did not have to get up early to catch the commuter train, carpool, not warm up the car for the ride to the office.It did not matter if the hosts were funny or not, if the acceptance speeches were long or not, nothing matters if you do not have to get up at the crack of dawn and grab an overdose of caffeine to get your motor started.But am sure many would have preferred to have to get up early and do and go through the morning rigmarole -- with pleasure.Do not get me wrong the Oscars show is something that many people love to watch .. but perhaps this year the numbers underscore something else, too.

COLOR, COLOR EVERYWHERE

If you cannot wait for Spring to flourish, check out these unique fashion designscreations by Indian fashion designer Manish Arora. They were shown as part of his Fall-Winter 2010-2011 ready-to-wear collection presented in Paris, Thursday March 4, 2010.

Bette Midler at the Flower Show

Bette Midler was a special guest of the 2010 Philadelphia International Flower Show on Wednesday, March 3, where she took a tour of the major exhibits and offered rave reviews (“This show is brilliant!”) according to a press release from The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society .Drew Becher, president-elect of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, and Flower Show Designer Sam Lemheney led Midler on a guided tour of the Explorer’s Garden and the displays devoted to Singapore , South Africa , New Zealand , Brazil , the Netherlands and India.

Walton Farm students recognized

I am happy to share news about good things happening in our community.Congratulations to the Walton Farm Elementary School community!!!

Walton Farm Elementary School has a Student Recognition program that recognizes students on a regular basis. When students are found to be showing kindness, respect, responsibility, or cooperation, the students are given a Proud Paw for their efforts. The Proud Paws are placed in a drawing that is held once a week where one student is pulled from each class to be recognized. Proud Paw students are listed below by grade level. In addition, each teacher has the opportunity to choose a Citizen of the Month from his/her classroom to recognize as someone who continuously shows kindness, respect, responsibility, or cooperation. Students who have been chosen as the Citizen of the Month for January are listed below with an asterisk before their names.

He's a winner and he's cute (in a Joe Mantegna kind of way)

From Scripps Howard News Service ..... On Tuesday (3/2) Joe Mantegna, a Chicago native, won the 2010 Super Sage Award trophy for having the closest prediction out of the 103 stars who participated in the 21st annual Scripps Howard Celebrity Super Bowl Poll. Mantegna received the trophy Tuesday (3/2) on the set of his current TV show "Criminal Minds."